The Magelands Epic: Storm Mage (Book 6)

by Christopher Mitchell

  Inner Sea – 8th Day, Second Third Summer 525

  Keir opened his eyes, feeling the gentle sway of the hammock beneath him. A pale light was shining through the small porthole in the wall, bathing the cabin in a grey, grimy glow. His mouth was parched dry, and the air in the cabin was warm and stuffy. He ignored a headache and shuffled out of the hammock, landing on the wooden floor, his bare feet bracing against the movement of the ship. Over to his left, Kelsey was sleeping, drool running down the side of her mouth as she swung back and forth in the other hammock. He lifted the stoppered skin and took a drink of the stale, tepid water, then sat on an upturned crate, the only seat in the room.

  Another day at sea. How many was that now? He had lost count. He reached for a bag and looked inside. His heart froze. Where was it? His eyes scanned the interior of the cabin, searching for the missing dreamweed. He fell to his knees, his hands feeling under the crate, his thoughts more frantic with every second.

  ‘Shit,’ he groaned. ‘Shit.’

  ‘What are you doing?’ mumbled Kelsey.

  ‘What the fuck do you think I’m doing, you stupid brat? I’m looking for the weed. We definitely didn’t finish it last night.’

  Kelsey yawned. ‘I threw it overboard.’

  He stared at her.

  ‘It’s for the best,’ she said. ‘You’ve been smoking it every day since we left.’

  ‘So have you.’

  ‘We needed it. It blotted out the pain, but we have to sort ourselves out. I did it for myself as much as for you.’

  He clenched his fists. ‘You fucking bitch! I ought to beat your stupid face in.’

  Kelsey ignored him, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Keir raised his hand, an urge to strike her flashing into his mind as his rage boiled. Kelsey glanced at him, narrowing her eyes.

  ‘Control yourself, brother.’

  Keir cried out and swung his fist, deliberately missing Kelsey by an inch, and striking the wall instead. Pain burst through him as he hit the wooden beams, and he clutched his hand, sinking to his knees as tears formed in his eyes. Kelsey watched as her brother wept.

  ‘I’ve been thinking,’ she said, ‘for the first time since we left; really thinking. All that weed; it’s like we’ve been living in a vague dream the whole time aboard. Now that I’m off it, I’ve been going over everything.’ She paused. ‘Are you listening?’

  ‘Fuck off,’ he muttered, the pain in his right hand raging through him.

  ‘I’ll take that as a yes. Alright, here’s what I’ve come up with.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘Eh? Tell you what, dearest sibling?’

  ‘About what was going to happen to father? I could have stopped it. It’s your fault.’

  Kelsey said nothing for a long moment. Keir’s tears slowed, and he wiped his face and sat down in the shadows of his hammock, so his sister wouldn’t be able to see his face.

  ‘I don’t think you really understand my powers,’ she said after a while, her voice low. ‘I had no idea what was going to happen that day in Plateau City.’

  ‘What?’ he said. ‘You tell me you can see the future, and now you’re telling me you can’t?’

  ‘Sometimes,’ she said, ‘rarely in fact, I catch a glimpse of something in someone’s eyes. I’ve maybe done it three dozen times in my entire life. For half of them, I’ve no understanding of what I was seeing, or the vision was of something that was just about to happen; mere minutes away in other words. You are the person I’ve seen most glimpses with. I saw us leave Holdfast when Jemma arrived to tell us she was pregnant, but I only got the vision that morning, when I was looking at you while we were having breakfast. Do you want to know the sum total of all the visions I’ve had about you that I understand, and that have not happened yet?’

  Keir bit his nails, not sure how to respond.

  ‘Two,’ she said. ‘That’s it. I don’t know what’s going to happen when we arrive at Rainsby, and I didn’t know what was going to happen to father. So, go ahead and blame me if you want, but the truth is that what happened is not our fault. Father died bravely, and we’re alive because of him, but we were the targets; the Holdfast children, that’s what she said.’

  Keir said nothing.

  ‘Regret bears down on me,’ she went on, ‘for all the times I was capriciously mean to him.’ She paused. ‘I wish I could undo some of what I said, but I can’t. I held a bitter resentment towards father, mainly because he loved Karalyn more than the rest of us.’

  ‘Please stop,’ Keir said. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

  ‘Then just listen! And you call me a brat? Grow up, you fucking child.’

  Keir said nothing, his eyes widening at his sister’s outburst.

  ‘This is it, brother dear,’ she said, scorn colouring her words, ‘time to become a man. What do you think will happen when we arrive at Rainsby? Which is today, by the way.’

  ‘What?’ he said. ‘We’re arriving today?’

  She sighed. ‘See? This is why I threw the last of the dreamweed overboard. You need to get your head straightened out. Aye, we’re only an hour or so away. You can see the coast if you look out of the window.’

  Keir stood, and peered out of the porthole. As Kelsey had said, the coastline was visible in the distance ahead as a thick line where the sea and sky met. His heart began to race. He wasn’t ready. They had been isolated in the cabin for the entire voyage, with Kelsey nipping out each day for fresh supplies. He had only left the room in order to use the toilet, and had never once been out on deck. He began to sweat in the stifling warmth of the cabin. If only he could have one more smoke…

  ‘Pass me the water,’ Kelsey said.

  Keir reached down and picked up the skin, then handed it to his sister.

  ‘I remember thinking it was odd,’ she said, ‘that Corthie had been sent back to mother before we arrived in Plateau City. Karalyn was still there, and Corthie had begun the new school year. A strange time to send him home. But you heard what the woman in white said, that Corthie had killed her friend. Karalyn killed the other one, and so they want revenge on our family.’

  ‘But that’s not fair,’ he said. ‘Why do we have to pay for what they did?’

  ‘She kept asking how, do you remember? How did they manage to kill them? As if somehow it shouldn’t be possible. She had vision, fire and death powers, I could hear them being used. The assailant that murdered old Laodoc was rumoured to have flow powers, and if Corthie killed him, then, well, I’m not sure what that means.’

  ‘It means they want to kill us all.’

  ‘Aye, but how did Corthie manage it? He should have died like the others. I’ve had some visions about him, you know.’

  ‘Who, Corthie?’

  ‘Aye.’

  ‘What do they show?’

  ‘They were hard to interpret. He was grown up, and in a city that I didn’t recognise. Everyone was treating him like he was a leader, or a great warrior…’

  Keir snorted.

  ‘But that’s not all,’ she went on. ‘He was fighting, to defend the city I think, against these… things.’

  ‘Things?’

  ‘Aye, like monsters, I suppose, from a nightmare.’

  ‘It sounds like you’re the one who’s been smoking too much dreamweed.’

  She jumped down from the hammock and frowned at him. ‘I had that vision ages ago, long before Karalyn took him to Plateau City. Come on, we should go up on deck and take a look at what’s going on.’

  Keir stood, and followed his sister as she opened the cabin door and went up a steep flight of steps. The sun was beating down on the open deck as they emerged from the gloom of the hold. A dozen Rakanese sailors were working hard in the baking heat, adjusting the sails as the ship sped towards Rainsby. Keir and Kelsey walked over to the side of the ship, and gazed out at the approaching city.

  ‘Look at those walls,’ said Keir. ‘No wonder the Rahain haven’t been able to take the place.�
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  ‘Something’s not right though,’ Kelsey said, pointing. ‘See that tower at the end of the breakwater? It’s getting repaired.’

  He narrowed his eyes and stared. Shrouding the lone tower was a set of wooden scaffolding, where labourers were working. Much of the stonework looked burnt. Just before it was a line of ships at anchor, queuing to get into the harbour. Kelsey turned to a pair of Rakanese sailors.

  ‘Is that normal?’ she said to them. ‘Every ship is being stopped.’

  One of the sailors glanced over. ‘Usually they just let us straight in.’

  ‘And look over there,’ said another sailor, pointing at the entrance to a second harbour on their left. ‘No masts.’

  ‘So?’ said Keir.

  The sailor smiled. ‘Well, boy, that’s the imperial harbour, and no masts means no ships, which means that the fleet isn’t here.’

  The captain appeared on deck and the two sailors got back to work. She shouted out commands in the Rakanese tongue, and the ship slowed. It was guided to the rear of the queue, and the anchor was dropped. The captain noticed Keir and Kelsey and walked over to them.

  ‘My passengers,’ she said, her eyes scanning them. ‘I hope you enjoyed the voyage.’

  ‘We got here in one piece,’ said Kelsey.

  ‘Indeed,’ said the captain, smiling. ‘However, there seems to be a delay getting into the harbour this morning. I hope it doesn’t inconvenience you too much.’

  ‘We’ve been sailing for ten days. A few extra hours won’t make any difference.’

  ‘Do you need any assistance upon arrival?’

  Keir said ‘no’ as Kelsey said ‘aye’ at the same time. The captain chuckled.

  ‘Directions,’ Kelsey said.

  The captain nodded. ‘To where?’

  ‘Somewhere to stay.’

  ‘Sure. Am I right in thinking that you didn’t bring any luggage along with you?’

  ‘Aye, that’s right.’

  The captain stood for a moment, her brow wrinkled, and Keir entered her mind, looking for any signs that she was going to betray them. Instead, he found kindness, and concern at the age and condition of her two young passengers, and she was trying to think of ways to help. Embarrassed, he withdrew from her thoughts and glanced away.

  ‘Come down to my cabin,’ she said. ‘You can wash and get cleaned up.’ She turned to Kelsey. ‘I might even have some spare old clothes that I could lend you.’ She glanced at Keir. ‘I’ve nothing that will fit you,’ she said, laughing, ‘but we can launder what you’ve got on. It’ll dry out on deck in this weather in no time.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Kelsey.

  ‘That way,’ the captain said, ‘when we finally get into Rainsby, you both won’t be smelling like a gaien stables. Come on, follow me.’

  The sun had passed the point of noon by the time the ship had moved to the head of the queue. Kelsey and Keir were sitting up on deck near the prow, feeling clean and freshened up. Kelsey was wearing a loose summer dress, while Keir’s clothes had been washed and dried. They watched as the ship manoeuvred slowly by the tower at the entrance. A massive chain was dangling from the wall, its lower links twisted and broken, while scorch marks and patches of dried blood stained the side of the breakwater. The captain, who was up by the prow with them, whistled at the sight. As they neared, a pair of huge bolt-throwers were turned by soldiers on the battlements towards them, and an officer raised his arm. The ship came to a halt.

  Ropes were thrown across and the sailors secured them as a dozen imperial soldiers boarded. The captain walked down from the prow to meet them. The officer and the captain chatted while the soldiers made an inspection of the ship. One of them approached Kelsey and Keir at the prow, her crossbow ready. She gave them a cursory glance, then returned to the deck.

  The soldiers remained on board as the ship began to pull away again, and within minutes they had rounded the breakwater and the vast harbour of Rainsby came into view.

  Kelsey gasped, a hand to her mouth.

  The harbour was full of ships, but nearly all of them were blackened, gutted-out shells. Masts poked out of the water in a dozen locations, marking where many had sunk to the bottom. Wooden piers were broken, and half had sections missing. while the stench of burnt wood filled the air.

  ‘Shit,’ muttered Keir. ‘What the fuck happened here?’

  ‘The Rahain have a fire mage, it seems,’ said the captain’s voice from behind him. He turned, and saw her stare across the harbour. ‘The soldiers tell me that the raid took place four days ago.’ She pointed towards the stone wharves. ‘See that building there? It used to be a hospital. The bastards burnt it to the ground anyway.’ She shook her head. ‘Any of these ships could have been us. The entire fishing fleet’s gone, along with the biggest grain-freighter on the Inner Sea. A troop-carrier was just about to unload when the raid hit, and two hundred soldiers were burnt to death below decks.’

  ‘And the fire mage?’ said Kelsey.

  ‘Got clean away,’ the captain said. ‘That’s why the imperial navy isn’t here. They’ve gone after the raiders to get revenge, taking every marine with them.’

  ‘The Empress has gone on the offensive?’ said Kelsey.

  ‘It seems so,’ the captain said, ‘and not before time, as some might say.’

  The ship sailed slowly between the wrecked lines of boats and piers, and docked at an empty space by the wharf. Soldiers were waiting for them, standing by as the gangplanks were put in place.

  ‘A small confession,’ said the captain.

  ‘Aye?’ said Keir.

  ‘Yes. I have reported your presence to the authorities. They would have found you anyway, but I have my own concerns about two young folk like yourselves, travelling alone with nothing but a purse of gold and a stash of dreamweed. I expect someone will want to speak with you when you disembark.’

  Kelsey shot Keir a look before he could say anything. ‘We understand,’ she said.

  The captain nodded. ‘Best of luck.’

  Keir watched as she stepped back down onto the deck to oversee the docking.

  ‘Don’t say anything,’ Kelsey said.

  ‘I wasn’t going to. I knew that we weren’t going to be able to just slip into Rainsby without someone noticing. The question is, what do we tell them?’

  Kelsey frowned. ‘The truth, I suppose.’

  They stood, and walked towards the closest gangplank. At the bottom, a squad of soldiers were gathered, and Keir led the way down to the wharf, with Kelsey a step behind.

  ‘We have a few questions, sir, miss,’ said one of the soldiers as Keir’s boots touched the solid flagstones of the wharf.

  Keir spread his empty hands before him. ‘I am Keir Holdfast and this is my sister Kelsey. We are the children of the First Holder, and request to speak to your commanding officer.’

  The soldiers stared at them.

  Kelsey nodded. ‘Aye,’ she said, ‘that should do it.’

  ‘So you don’t believe us?’ Keir said, his voice low as he stared across the table at the Governor of Rainsby.

  ‘That’s not what I said, young man,’ the Holdings man replied, watching them from over the rims of his spectacles, ‘but we shall need to verify if what you have told us is true before we decide what is to be done.’

  Keir snorted, and turned from the official, his gaze drifting to the window overlooking the Old Town.

  ‘And that might take some time,’ the governor went on. ‘Communication between Rainsby and the imperial capital is not as fast as it used to be, not with Stretton Sands in enemy hands. Lady Karalyn could reach Rainsby herself without the need for intermediaries, but with your sister no longer living in Plateau City, we are forced to resort to a relay of lesser mages, running up the western coast of the Inner Sea. If I send a message this evening, then it will be several days before any reply comes back to us.’

  ‘It’s too risky,’ said Kelsey.

  ‘Excuse me?’ said the governor, frownin
g.

  ‘Did you not listen to what I said? The reason we fled the imperial capital is as relevant today as it was then. The agent sent to kill us is still at large, and we don’t want her or any of her companions to discover where we are.’

  ‘I’m not sure I like what you’re insinuating,’ said the governor. ‘The relay of vision mages is employed to carry the most sensitive and secret information across the empire. Are you implying that one of them would pass your whereabouts to our enemies?’

  ‘Aye,’ said Kelsey, ‘I am.’

  The governor shook his head.

  ‘The agent that murdered our father,’ Kelsey said, ‘might be living in the Great Fortress for all we know, trusted by the imperial court. She has almost as many powers as the one who tried to kill the Empress last year.’

  ‘Which is exactly why her Majesty needs to be informed. And what about your mother? Surely she deserves to know what has become of you? She might believe that you are dead, or worse, that you were somehow responsible for you father’s death, because, as you yourselves have admitted, you have no evidence that this woman attacked you, except for your word.’

  Keir shook his head, but remained silent.

  ‘So here are your choices,’ said the governor. ‘Either I put you on the first boat leaving for Plateau City, under guard, or you remain here, in my custody, until this has been sorted out.’

  ‘May I smoke?’ said Kelsey.

  ‘Of course, miss,’ he said, picking up a silver case from the table. He opened it and withdrew three cigarettes.

  ‘Thank you, Governor,’ Kelsey said, taking one and lighting it. ‘Did you know that my brother is a fire mage?’

  The governor’s eyes widened, and he coughed, spluttering up smoke. ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘I heard you had some trouble with an enemy fire mage,’ Kelsey said. ‘Well, my brother might be able to level the odds somewhat.’

  The governor stared at Keir. ‘Is this true?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Keir said, pride and defiance coursing through him.

  ‘And I’m thinking,’ said Kelsey, ‘that the garrison in Rainsby is currently under-resourced?’

  ‘How do you know that?’